Summer! Solstice!
A man I knew years ago named David Rankin once wrote, “ I refuse to wish away the winter.” I am reminded of his poem whenever someone complains about the weather. How can we really justify wishing away what we have right here, right now, before us? The easy things are a comfort, true, and deserve appreciation. The harder stuff? It always has its own gifts and lessons.
So, I endure the harsher seasons, bundling up with six layers just to take the dog out and all, bravely trying always to find the upside. Honestly, it can get challenging! But I do it—it seems relevant. No matter what the “it” is that represents the harder end of the scale, it has its own meaning. I like to say “it” builds character...so imagine what a character I’ll be when I’m old! I relish the chances that come along to remind me of the breadth of life in all its guises, in all its peaks and valleys.
Photo Credit: Margaret Sudekum
This also means that when the easier times/weather/health/life situations come along, it’s time to celebrate! There may be no finer excuse for a party than Summer Solstice. It is a wonderful time to pause and look around. The natural world is so lovely! The leaves are fully green in all their glorious individual hues. Meadow flowers dot the grasses. Birdsong and the sounds of hummingbird wings fills the air. Sunrise and sunset bookend days of summertime skies—sometimes blue, sometimes troubled, but summery nonetheless. And the fireflies are like sprinkles on the cake.
Summer Solstice marks the day when the tilt of our one small planet is most toward the sun, and the day is as long as it will get this year. The date fluctuates between June 20, 21, and 22, but what it signifies is that the sun has reached its northernmost point for the year. Here in western Michigan at nearly 43 degrees north of the equator, it yields about 15-1/2 hours of daylight! Sunset isn’t until 9:24pm, and since we are positioned 30 miles east of the west edge of the Eastern time zone (!), we still have some lingering light in the sky at 10:30pm.
In many places, summer solstice is celebrated as a religious occasion. Me? It’s more of a generalized spiritual practice to enjoy the symmetry of a world that wobbles reliably from one solstice to the next, with the spring and autumn equinoxes with their balanced days & nights serving as midway stabilizers. If nothing else, summer solstice is certainly a good excuse for a party. That means it is a perfect time for...an evening bonfire! My new home addition, the fire circle named Galapagos [see my blog, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” posted 11/29/20], is the place to be. There may be some singing and adult beverages involved, but the real point is gathering with like-minded souls together who love the larger celestial promise that is offered up when we think beyond our own lives.
In Wikipedia the question was raised, “what does one eat on summer solstice?” The reply: “Food should be sun-colored, and perhaps round. Some traditional foods involving such round, sun-colored fruits and vegetables include pumpernickel bread, mead, and grilled foods that use an open flame to represent the sun.” I’m thinking sliced grilled yellow squash medallions maybe? Or ... well, use your own imagination!
As dusk proceeds, along comes the star-gazing, as the “day-blind stars” as Wendell Barry described them, begin to emerge. I am enamored without fail to witness their twinkle begin to mimic the meadow-bound fireflies. Night drops in, heralded by the crickets. As the day concludes, I know, I know: our days will now begin their march to the shortest day of the year. But that’s a full six months off, and meanwhile, there’s much to do! Aren’t we lucky?
